Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene sketched a bleak picture of the country’s economy to the African National Congress (ANC) lekgotla at the weekend and warned of several risks‚ the newspaper reported.

Slower global and domestic economic growth was not temporary‚ but the “new normal” he said‚ adding that SA would attain 3% in the medium term but was unlikely to meet the 5% target by 2020 set in the National Development Plan.

His forthright presentation listing a range of concerns echoed his message to the ANC’s January lekgotla when he acknowledged that the government was partly responsible for eroding SA’s growth potential.

Last weekend’s presentation offered a grimmer picture of the economy than the January one.

After the lekgotla‚ the ANC issued a bland statement‚ raising questions whether the Cabinet lekgotla under way would come up with plans to tackle the dire state of the economy.

After following the global average for years‚ SA’s growth was currently “far below” the global average‚ Mr Nene said.